American Century Investments

Rating Overview

American Century Investments is Medium Risk.

American Century Investments often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. American Century Investments occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

American Century Investments received a score of 40 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). American Century Investments is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making, and other business practices (3)(4)(5). However, the company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (6).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

American Century Investments does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company focuses on funding “helping others and building strong communities” (1)(2).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). American Century Investments does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments is a member of LGBT Great, an organization that provides companies with advice on how to be more inclusive to the LGBTQ community (1)(2). The company’s Chief Investment Officer Rich Weiss was recognized by LGBT Great as one of its Top 50 Executive Allies (3). LGBT Great also announced Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Thomas and Victor Zhang as two of the Global Top 100 Executive Allies for 2021 (4). American Century Investments’ CEO, Jonathan Thomas, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (5)(6). The company supports ESG within its business practices, “making the integration of ESG factors into the investment process more important than ever” (7)(8).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

American Century Investments’ HRC 2023-2024 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging (1)(2). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. American Century Investments has a corporate partnership with LGBT Great and the Diversity Project (3). The company is a Corporate Member of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce (4)(5). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of American Century using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (6).